Cage trap with easy set and release mechanism

ABSTRACT

A cage type animal trap having an enclosure with an animal access opening into a vacant interior sized to receive an animal to be trapped. The access opening is closed by a door that is movable from a closed to an opened position by an actuating mechanism having a flexible actuating member with one end secured to the door and the other end releasably held by a latch mechanism. The latch mechanism is configured to move the door to the opened position by tensioning the actuating member and, in response to a trigger mechanism, to release the second end of the actuating member and allow the door to move from the opened position to the closed position thereby trapping the animal in the animal enclosure. A door lock in abutment with the outer surface of the door prevents the door from being opened by a trapped animal. A part of the actuating mechanism is in engagement with the door lock when the door is closed such that the door lock is automatically disengaged when the actuating member is tensioned.

This is a continuation application of application Ser. No. 13/558,075filed on Jul. 25, 2012, which was a continuation application of U.S.Ser. No. 12/149,758 filed on May 7, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,230,641,which was a continuation-in-part of prior application Ser. No.11/097,195 filed on Apr. 4, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,451 and also acontinuation-in-part of prior application Ser. No. 11/600,085 filed onNov. 16, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,757,427, the priority of which ishereby claimed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to cage-type animal traps of the kind generallyused outdoors for trapping small to medium sized animals without harmingthe trapped animal. Such traps commonly comprise a cage of metal wiremesh or the like with a door held open by a trigger mechanism until ananimal is lured into the trap by suitable pre-inserted bait. After theanimal enters the interior of the trap, the animal's weight pressedagainst the trigger actuates a trip which releases and closes the door,thereby trapping the animal inside the cage.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Cage traps of the prior art have specific setting and releasingmechanisms which typically consist of a pan, a trigger rod, a latchingdevice, a door, a locking device and sometimes a spring member. To setthe trap, the locking device must be disengaged. A door is then openedand a latch is set. The location of each of these components on the traprequires the use of two hands. In order to release the trapped animal,once again the locking device must be disengaged, the door must be openand the latch set. Again, these steps require the use of two hands andinvolve close contact with the animal. There is thus a need for acage-type trap that provides the user with an easy, essentiallyone-handed method of setting the trap. There is also a need for acage-type trap where the user can easily release a trapped animalwithout subjecting the user to close contact with the trapped animal.

Another problem with the prior art cage traps is the trigger oractuation mechanism used to initiate the door closure. There is thus aneed for a system for providing an adjustable trigger which is sensitiveto weight thereby distinguishing among large and small animals so thatthe trap will not be inadvertently tripped by a small animal that is nota target of the trap.

Prior art cage traps relying on cable mechanisms also presentdifficulties associated with keeping the cage trap door closed once ananimal is inside. There is thus a need for a system that provides a doorlock mechanism which is reliable in operation with a cable-type cagetrap to ensure the door remains locked until the user initiates releaseof the trapped animal, and which releases easily and quickly.

It is to the solution of these and other problems that the presentinvention is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a cage-type animal trap thatincludes a wire mesh animal enclosure made up of a base, a pair ofopposed sidewalls emanating from the base, a rear wall secured to thesidewalls and the base, a roof secured to the tops of the sidewalls andthe rear wall, and a front end provided with an animal access openingdefined by the base, sidewalls, and roof. A door is movably mounted atthe front end and operates in an opened position to reveal the animalaccess opening and in a closed position to block the animal accessopening. An elongated rail is positioned on the roof along thelongitudinal axis of the roof.

A hand grip is mounted on the rail to move bi-directionally between afirst position toward the front end of the trap and a second positiontoward the rear wall of the trap. An actuating mechanism having aflexible actuating member has one end secured to the bottom of the doorand another end secured to the hand grip. As such, when the hand grip isin the first position forwardly on the rail, the door is in the closedposition and, when the hand grip is in the second position rearwardly onthe rail, the door is in the opened position with tension on theactuating member. A latch mechanism is mounted at the rear end of thetrap to releasably hold the hand grip in its second position and tomaintain the tension on the actuating mechanism.

The trip mechanism is in the form of a pedal movably mounted in theanimal enclosure with a trigger rod secured to the pedal and to thelatch mechanism. When an animal enters the animal enclosure, the weightof the animal moves the pedal from a first raised position to a secondlowered position for causing the trigger rod to move the latch mechanismthereby releasing the hand grip. Releasing the hand grip results inrelease of the tension on the actuating member and movement of the handgrip from its second position to its first position. The weight of thedoor moves the door from the opened position to the closed positionthereby trapping the animal in the animal enclosure.

A pedal mechanism is located at the front end of the trap to lock thehand grip in its first position when the door is in the closed position.A door lock is positioned at the bottom of the door to prevent the doorfrom being opened from inside the trap by a trapped animal. Finally, anadjustment mechanism is provided at the rear of the trap to allow theuser to adjust the weight sensitivity of the pedal so that only ananimal of predetermined weight can move the pedal to trip the trap.

The animal trap can alternatively be configured with a separatemechanism for tensioning the actuating member, such as a cable reel, acrank, or other mechanism suitable for this purpose as would be known bypersons of ordinary skill in the art. In this case, the hand grip couldbe eliminated. Movement of the pedal would then release the actuatingmember tensioning mechanism, with the remainder of the door closingoperation being the same as already described.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving an improved mechanism for safely and easily setting the trap.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving an improved mechanism for safely and easily releasing an animalfrom the trap.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cage trapwhich can be safely and easily set, and from which a trapped animal canbe safely and easily released by the user using only one hand.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving an improved mechanism for distinguishing among animals ofdifferent weights so that the trap will only trip if an animal exceeds apredetermined weight.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a cagetrap having a door lock that works effectively with a flexible actuatingmember to prevent a trapped animal from opening the trap door andescaping from the trap.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cage traphaving a door lock in accordance with the preceding object that releaseseasily and quickly in response to tension placed on the flexibleactuating member.

Additional objects of the invention include, for example, the provisionof a cage trap which is durable, reliable and user friendly, which isanimal friendly and which traps the animal safely in a humane manner,and which can be manufactured from readily available components and in acost-effective manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of thisspecification including the accompanying drawings. While intending toillustrate the invention, the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the presentinventive trap in a set position with the door of the trap opened.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the wiremesh removed to more clearly show the trap in a set position.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 1 in an intermediateposition with the door half way between the opened and closed positions.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 1 in a tripped positionwith the door closed.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a view taken along lines 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11A is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the wiremesh removed to more clearly show the trap in a tripped position.

FIG. 14 is a rear plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the detail highlighted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing how a pivot structure is mounted to thetop of the door forming part of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing how a pivot structure is mounted to thetop of the pedal forming part of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary view of a spring used in the door mechanism ofthe embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a front actuating assemblyforming part of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a partial view of the top of a rear latch assembly formingpart of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a bottom perspective view of the rear latch assembly shown inFIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a closeup of a portion of the rear latch assembly as shown inFIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the rear latch assemblyforming part of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of an edgeportion of the roof in the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing integral clipelements used to secure the roof to the upper edge portions of the sidewalls.

FIG. 25 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the mannerin which the clip elements of the roof in the embodiment of FIG. 1 areengaged with the wire mesh at the upper edge portions of a side wall ofthe cage housing.

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary view of a sidewall showing the use of crimpedrings to assemble the cage walls in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 27 is a fragmentary view of an alternative embodiment of thelatching mechanism forming part of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of theactuating mechanism and door lock shown with the trap in a trippedposition with the door closed.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of theactuating mechanism and door lock shown with the trap in a trippedposition with the door closed.

FIG. 30A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thetensioning mechanism shown with the trap in a tripped position with thedoor closed.

FIG. 30B is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 30A in a set positionwith the door closed.

FIG. 31A is a perspective view of a further alternate embodiment of thetensioning mechanism shown with the trap in a tripped position with thedoor closed.

FIG. 31B is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 31A in a set positionwith the door open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In describing preferred embodiments of the present invention illustratedin the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake ofclarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to thespecific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that eachspecific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in asimilar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, 7 and 8, the cage trap of the presentinvention is generally designated by reference numeral 10. Trap 10includes a box-like cage having an elongated base 12 and opposedsidewalls 14 and 16 preferably formed and folded from a single piece ofwire mesh. The sidewalls emanate from the longitudinal edges 18 and 20of the base 12 in an upward direction. The walls 14 and 16 define planesthat are essentially parallel to each other.

As seen particularly in FIGS. 1 and 3, in the preferred form of theinvention, the base 12 and side walls 14, 16 include wire elements 13,15 welded at their crossing points to form generally rectangularapertures 17, with the side walls bent up at right angles from the base.The rectangular apertures are approximately 1″ square.

The rear wall structure 36 of the trap is also made from a sheet of wiremesh in a generally rectangular configuration to form rear wall 22,having a bottom edge 24 and a top edge 26, and two sidewalls 28 and 30.

The two side walls 28 and 30 emanate perpendicular to and away from therear wall. As shown in FIG. 14, the lower half of walls 22, 28 and 30 ofthe wire mesh contains openings 25 that are approximately ½″ by 1″. Thetop half of the same walls of the wire mesh contains openings 27 whichare approximately 1″ square.

The rear wall structure 36 is positioned so that the bottom edge 24mates with the rear edge 21 of base 12. In like manner, the rearsidewalls 28 and 30 overlap the base sidewalls 14 and 16.

The rear wall structure 36 is attached to the base wall structurethrough the use of a series of circular wire rings that arestrategically crimped in place as shown, for example, by crimped rings32 in FIG. 26. For ease of review, the crimped rings are only shown inFIG. 26 with the realization that they are present in all of the viewsof the wire mesh. Further, the arrangement of the crimped rings 32 inFIG. 26 is by way of example. Any arrangements of the rings that holdthe wire mesh together are contemplated.

The basic cage structure is completed through the mounting of anelongated cover or roof 40 which may preferably be stamped from sheetmetal. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 14, the rectangular roof generallyconsists of a piece of sheet metal formed to provide a front edge 42,side edges 44 and 46, and rear edge 48. The sheet metal is bent at therear edge 48 to provide a downwardly extending rectangular shaped flange50 that is integral with the full length of the transverse edge 48.

The sheet metal is also bent upwardly at the side edges 44 and 46 toprovide upwardly extending flanges 54 and 56 and then bent downwardly toform longitudinally extending flanges 64 and 66 that span the fulllengths of the longitudinal side edges 44 and 46, respectively. Withreference to FIGS. 1, 15 and 25, the flange pairs 54-64 and 56-66 defineelongated channels 53 and 55 that fit over and receive the top edges ofwalls 14 and 16, respectively.

Defined along the surface of flange 54 of the cover 40 are a series ofstamped tabs 62 (FIGS. 1, 24 and 25). Similar tabs 62 are defined alongthe surface of flange 56 of the roof.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 14, the roof 40 is positioned andsecured to the previously assembled wire mesh structure in the followingmanner. The elongated cover 40 is positioned so that the longitudinallyextending channels 53 and 55 receive the top portions of the side walls14 and 16 and the rear wall 22. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 25, using sidewall 14 as an example, the top portion of the side wall is positionedwithin the channel 53 defined by flanges 54 and 64. The bendable tabs 62are then pressed inwardly (FIGS. 24 and 25) in the direction of flange64 and in this way, the bent tabs capture the upper portion of the sidewall 14 so that it cannot be separated from the roof structure. Similaraction takes place with regard to the bendable tabs 62 of flanges 56 and66 in order to secure the top portion of side wall 16 to the cover. Therear depending flange 50 extends over the top portion of the rear wall22 to provide a cover therefor.

A shown in FIGS. 1 and 15, a wire re-enforcing frame 111 is securedabout the opening 81 of the cage to the wire mesh of the cage bysuitably spaced bent fasteners 113. The top 115 of the wire frame 111spans across the top of each flange 54 and 64 to provide a support for aflexible actuating member such as an actuating cable 34. When fullyassembled, the various elements constituting the cage define a vacantinterior 70 for receiving an animal that is to be trapped.

In order to hold an animal within the enclosure, a trap door mechanismmust be provided. Such a mechanism is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 10, 16,and 18. The trap door mechanism, generally designated by referencenumeral 80, includes an elongated door 58 preferably made of sheetmetal. With reference to FIG. 16, the upper portion of the door 58contains a yoke 60 that is generally U-shaped with straight leg portions86 and 88 extending outwardly beyond the side edges 71 and 72 of thedoor panel. The lower portion 74 of the yoke is secured to the doorpanel through the use of bent tabs 75 and 76 formed in the door. Thestraight leg portions of the yoke are secured to the side edges of thedoor panel through the use of bent tabs 77 and 78 also formed in thedoor. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylindrically-shaped ends 86and 88 of the yoke 60 are received in mounting holes 102 and 104 definedin the flange portions 56 and 66. The holes 102 and 104 are positionedaft of the front opening 81 of the cage about one-third of the length ofthe longitudinal axis of the cage.

A door lock plate 106 is positioned horizontally and secured byfasteners 107 along the lower edge 108 of the door panel. Alternatively,the lock plate 106 could be an integral component of the door 58 ifstamped or otherwise formed in the door. A rectangular-shaped lockingwire yoke 110 has a lower portion 112 which wedges up against the cornercreated by the upper edge 114 of the door lock plate 106 and the outersurface 68 of the door when the door is in the closed position. SeeFIGS. 8, 28 and 29. The ends 116 and 118 of the yoke are rotatablypositioned in mounting holes 122 and 124, respectively, provided in theflanges 56 and 66. The mounting holes 122 and 124 are located forward ofthe mounting holes 102 and 104 provided for the door and aft of thefront end 81 of the trap. A torsion wire spring 126 is provided to biasthe yoke in a downward direction toward the door. See FIG. 18.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, the bottom portion 128 ofthe door lock plate 106 contains a transversely extending hole 130 whichreceives one end 132 of the actuating cable 34. The cable 34 passesbeneath the bottom of the yoke 110 and over the surface 68 of the doorpanel in an upward direction to pass over the top 115 of the wire frame111 and over the cover 40. The cable is held in place on bottom portion128 by crimp 96.

In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 28, an actuating mechanism,generally designated by the reference numeral 200, includes a flexibleactuating member 202 and a hinged member generally designated by thereference numeral 204. The hinged member 204 includes a hinge 206 thatis secured to the door 58 adjacent the lower edge 108 thereof, and aflap 208 having a free end 210 and an opposite edge 212 joined to thehinge 206. An aperture 214 in the free end 210 of the flap 208 receivesthe first end 132 of the flexible actuating member 202. The flexibleactuating member 202 may be embodied as a cable, a chain such as abicycle chain, a cord, a rope, etc. Hence, the flap 208 lies underneaththe bottom 112 of the yoke 110 and the flexible actuating member 202 issecured to the free end 210 of the flap 208. The hinge 206 is secured tothe door 58 using any conventional means known to secure hinged elementsto a supporting surface.

A further alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 29 and, since many ofthe components correspond with those in FIG. 28, these correspondingcomponents are identified by reference numerals that start with “3”instead of “2” and discussion will be limited to those components whichare different from the FIG. 28 embodiment.

In the further alternative embodiment of FIG. 29, the hinged member,generally designated by the reference numeral 304, includes a panel 308that extends substantially across the width of the door 58. The hinge306 of the hinged member 304 is secured to the door in a manner similarto the hinge 206 flap of the hinged member 204. The flexible actuatingmember 202 can be secured to a central portion of the door panel (notshown but in a position similar to the connection shown between theactuating member 202 and the flap 208 in FIG. 28), or to an edge area314 of the door 58 as shown in FIG. 29. When coupled to the edge area314, the flexible actuating member 202 is directed across the top of thetrap along one side, rather than centrally. This off-center positioningof the actuating member 202 is best accommodated through an actuatingmember tensioning mechanism other than the hand grip embodiment, e.g.,through the use of a hand crank, cable reel, etc., that can bepositioned along the top of the trap so as to have an offset input fordrawing in and releasing the actuating member.

In both embodiments set forth in FIGS. 28 and 29, tensioning of theactuating member 202 lifts the hinged member 204, 304 to release theyoke 110. By eliminating any need for the actuating member to pass underbottom portion 112 of the yoke 110, frictional resistance between theflexible actuating member and the yoke is avoided along with resultingwear on the actuating member arising from the process of opening thetrap repeatedly over months or years of use. As both the yoke 110 andthe hinged member 204, 304 are preferably made of metal, the resultingmetal against metal contact of the hinged member with the yoke providesexcellent durability and minimal friction that might otherwise interferewith unhindered sliding of the actuating member against the yoke, andeasy release thereof, when the actuating member is tensioned.

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, a rear latch assembly, generally designatedby reference numeral 150, is mounted on top of the roof 40 along thetrap longitudinal axis A. The rear latch assembly 150 includes a pair ofspaced mounting holes 152 and 154 defined on wing portions 156 and 158emanating from a housing 160. The assembly is fastened to the rearportion of the roof with suitable fasteners such as screws or the like(not shown) passing through the mounting holes. Mounted about a third ofthe distance aft of the front 81 of the trap also along the longitudinalaxis A is a front actuating assembly, generally designated by referencenumeral 170. This assembly contains a housing 172 from which emanatesmounting wings 174 and 176 that contain holes 177 and 178 for receivingmounting screws or the like (not shown).

As best seen in FIG. 3, the top portions of both the front actuatingassembly 170 and the rear latch assembly 150 include cylindrical bores145 and 146, respectively, which are arranged spaced from and generallyparallel to the longitudinal axis A of the roof. These bores are shapedto receive an elongated cylindrically shaped rod 138. An elongated handgrip 134 contains a bore 136 through its longitudinal axis. This bore issized so that grip 134 may be slidably mounted on the rod 138.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10-12, the rear portion 118 of the hand grip 134contains a recess 116 and a vertically oriented support member 90 thatglides along the roof surface as the grip slides along the rod 138. Thefront end of the grip 134 contains a forwardly extending handle cablepocket 100. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 11A, the pocket 100 consists of alongitudinally extending bore 98 that receives the other end of thecable 34. This end of the cable is held in place also through a wirecrimp 96. The forwardmost portion of the handle cable pocket 100contains a transverse cross piece 94 which, as will be explained later,engages with the front actuating assembly to provide a safety lock toprevent the hand grip 134 from sliding rearwardly, thereby insuring thatthe door of the trap stays closed during transport.

The recess 116 defined in the rearward end 118 of the handle 134 isdefined in part by an indented ledge 92 that is shaped to mate with arear latch 157 in a manner to be described hereinafter.

With reference to FIGS. 10-12, and 19, the front actuating assembly,generally designated by reference numeral 170, consists of basicallyfour parts, a front housing 172, a front paddle mechanism 171 that ismovably mounted within the housing, and a torsion wire spring 173 thatis secured to the front paddle to bias the paddle in the downwarddirection relative to the front actuating assembly 170.

As best seen in FIG. 19, the front paddle mechanism 171 consists of acylindrical shaft 175 which terminates in a paddle handle 167 that canbe moved by the thumb or fingers of the user in order to rotate thefront paddle 171. About half way along the cylindrical axis of shaft175, an engaging foot 179 is defined. The engaging foot contains anextended downwardly projecting toe 148 which, in use, engages with thecross bar 94 of the hand grip 134 in order to hold the handle in placeafter the trap has been tripped and the door panel is closed. Withreference to FIG. 11A, it can be seen that the spring 173 biases theengaging foot 179 into the area 100 defined behind the cross bar 94 inthe hand grip 134.

FIG. 19 shows how the front actuating assembly 170 may be assembled. Asoriented in FIG. 19, the cylindrical housing 172 is supported on a pairof downwardly-extending walls 41 and 43 that mate respectively withmounting wings 174 and 176. Each of the walls contains a cutout 166 thatis sized to allow passage of the engaging foot 179 from outside theactuating assembly 170 into a space 45 defined between the walls 41 and43. The top 47 of each cutout defines half of a round hole to receivethe smaller cylindrical portions of shaft 49. A U-shaped wedge 51 isinserted from underneath the housing 172 so that each leg 57 and 59fills the spaces 166. The top 61 of each leg is shaped to complete theround hole for rotatably receiving the portions 49 of shaft 175.

With reference to FIGS. 5, 12, 17 and 20-23, the rear latch assembly 150consists of essentially five pieces. The first piece is a rear housing151. At the aft end of the rear housing there is a vertically extendingbore 153 which is sized to receive a cylindrically shaped springtensioner 155. Defined within the interior of the rear housing 151 is anopening to receive a rear latch 157. A rear housing insert 159 holds thelatch 157 in place so that it may rotate about a transverse axis B. Therear end of the rear latch 157 contains a bore 161 for receiving one endof a compression spring 163. The other end of the compression spring inreceived within a cylindrical indentation 165 formed in the bottom ofthe spring tensioner. The forward end of the rear latch 157 contains alatching mechanism 121. This latching mechanism includes a downwardlyprojecting hook 123 having an opening 125 for receiving and holding thetop section 141 of a rectangular-shaped yoke wire member 143 that hasits free ends 135 and 137 secured to pedal 19 near the top edge by benttabs 82 and 84, respectively.

The pedal 19 serves as the trip mechanism in accordance with the presentinvention. The bottom end of pedal 19 is rotatably secured to the bottomof the cage by bent crimps 79 which are evenly spaced along the bottomedge and bent around one of the wires of the wire mesh. The front end ofthe rear latch also includes a ledge 127 for receiving and holding thelatch portion 92 at the rear 118 of the hand grip 134.

In order to set the trap 10, it is first placed on the ground orsupporting surface. The front paddle 171 of the front actuating assembly170 is then rotated in a clockwise direction by the user manipulatingpaddle handle 167, thus rotating the engaging foot 179 out of the crossbar opening 100 of the hand grip 134. This allows the user to move thehandle along the longitudinal axis of the rod 138 in a rearwarddirection toward the rear latch assembly 150 with one hand, while thehandle grip is also supported by the glide member 90. It is again notedthat in the embodiment set forth representatively in FIGS. 1, 2, 8, 10and 13, the actuating cable 34 passes underneath the lower portion 112of the locking wire yoke 110. This arrangement of components assuresthat the locking wire yoke 110 automatically disengages from the lockplate 106 as the hand grip 134 is moved away from its forward positionadjacent the front actuating assembly 170. Accordingly, a trapped animalcan be released by a person located at the rear of the trap bydisengaging the hand grip 134 from the front actuating assembly 170 andmoving the hand grip 134 rearwardly on rail 138.

In the alternate embodiments shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the hinged member204, 304 of the actuating mechanism 200, 300 lies underneath the lowerportion 112 of the locking wire yoke 110, with the flexible actuatingmember 202 being connected to the free end 210, 310 of the hinged member204, 304 so that tensioning of the actuating member 202 lifts the hingedmember to release the yoke. As noted earlier hereinabove, eliminatingthe need to pass the actuating member under the yoke prevents anyfrictional resistance between the flexible actuating member and theyoke, and the resulting wear on the actuating member, ensuring easyrelease of the yoke throughout the trap's operative life span when theactuating member is tensioned.

Once the hand grip 130 is released from the front assembly 170, the grip134 can be moved rearwardly until the recess 116 of the grip engages theupward portion of the latch 127 so that the latch holds the handle inits rearwardmost position. Rearward movement of the handle 134 resultsin the cable 34 moving in a rearward direction to rotate the door 58about ends 86 and 88 in an upward direction and set the door in a loadedposition. Having accomplished this action with one hand, the trap is nowset awaiting the entrance of an animal to activate the trap.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, in order to entice the animal into thetrap, a suitable bait is inserted into the interior of the trap aft ofthe pedal 19. When the animal enters the trap and steps on the pedal 19,the pedal is rotated in a downward direction which causes the topsection 141 of the yoke or trigger rod 143 to pull the latch 121 in adownward direction thereby releasing the recess 116 of handle 134 fromengagement with the latch ledge 127. When this happens, the weight ofthe door 58 causes the door to rotate in a downward direction to rapidlyclose the interior space 70 and trap the animal within the cage 10.

As used herein, the term “trigger rod” is intended to have its broadestmeaning and can include cable or other trigger mechanisms to releasehandle 134 from latch ledge 127 when pedal 19 is rotated to its downwardposition. In addition, those skilled in the art can appreciate that thetrigger rod 143 could be a single rod and could be formed with latchmechanism 121 as one piece, such as by molding; and the pedal 19 couldalso be integral with the rod 143. Other trip mechanisms with which theanimal interacts, as by pulling, could be substituted for pedal 19 andbe formed as part of the trigger rod.

Downward rotation of the door 58 also moves the handle grip 134 to itsforwardmost position with cross-piece 94 moving past engaging foot 179,to lock the hand grip 134 into the front actuating assembly. At the sametime, as best seen in FIGS. 8 and 18, the downwardly biased yoke 112through the urging of torsion spring 126 presses up against the topsurface 68 of door 58 and is lodged in the corner created by the upperedge 114 of the door lock plate 106 and the top surface 68 of the doorwhen the door is in the closed position. Under these conditions, if theanimal tries to open the door, the bottom of the yoke will press againstthe door lock plate, preventing the animal from rotating the door in anupward direction.

When the user desires to release a trapped animal, the user follows aprocedure similar to setting the trap. The engaging foot 179 of thefront actuating assembly 170 is disengaged from the handle cable pocket100 at the front end of the hand grip 134 by the user manipulating thepaddle handle 167. The grip 134 is then free to slide rearward on rail138 by the user's hand to open the door 58 by the pulling action ofcable 34. Initial rearward movement of the grip 134 tensions theactuating cable 34 which causes the locking yoke 110 to be lifted in anupward direction disengaging from the top edge 114 of the door lockplate 106 by the urging of the end 132 of the actuating cable 34.Sliding the grip 134 to its most rearward position engages the grip tothe latch mechanism 150 which resets the trap.

In a similar manner, tensioning mechanisms other than the hand grip suchas a cable reel, crank, etc., can be used to tension the flexibleactuating member. A cable reel trap design is shown in FIGS. 30A and30B, with the door in the closed and open/set positions, respectively.With the door in the closed position as shown in FIG. 30A, the cablereel, generally designated by the reference numeral 400, can be wound ina manner known in the art such as by crank arm 401 to draw the actuatingmember 34 around a reel or spool 402, lifting the door 58 to the trapset position shown in FIG. 30B. A latch mechanism associated with thetensioning mechanism in a manner similar to that of latch mechanism 150is then operative to release the tensioning mechanism, allowing the trapdoor to close.

A further tensioning mechanism in the form of an over-center setmechanism, generally designated by the reference numeral 500, is shownin FIGS. 31A and 31B and is fully described in the present assignee'sco-pending application Ser. No. 11/600,085 (“the '085 application”), thepriority of which has been claimed herein. The disclosure of the '085application is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference as iffully set forth in its entirety.

The over-center set mechanism 500, as described in the '085 application,includes a grip 502 with a set lever 504 rotatably coupled to a centerbracket 506 on the top 508 of the trap. With the door 58 in the closedposition (see FIG. 31A), the grip 502 is moved from the entrance side ofthe center bracket 506, as shown in FIG. 31A, to the back side of thecenter bracket (see FIG. 31B). This movement lifts the door 58 to thetrap set position shown in FIG. 31B. In addition to setting the trap,the over-center set mechanism 500 also provides the latching functiononce the set lever 504 with grip 502 has been moved “over center” to theposition shown in FIG. 31B.

Once latched, release of the set mechanism is triggered through the triprod assembly, generally designated by the reference numeral 510.Opposing force applied by the trip pedal 19 lifts the grip 502 and setlever 504 to a position past the “over center” point after which the setlever proceeds rapidly toward the entrance side of the trap to allow thedoor 58 to close.

Another feature of the present invention is an adjustable pedalsensitivity feature. This is accomplished, as shown in FIG. 23, byproviding an upwardly extending ledge 101 near the bottomcircumferential ledge 103 of the spring tensioner 155. When the springtensioner 155 is rotated within the vertically extending bore 153, thecompressive force on the spring 163 may be changed by the displacementof the spring tensioner 155 in a downward direction against one end ofthe spring 163 based on the clearance provided within the assemblythrough the use of a series of indentations 105A-105E positionedradially about the bottom 109 of the bore 153 within the rear housing151. In this way, the tension required on the pedal to activate the trapcan be adjusted so that if a small animal enters the trap, the weight ofthe animal will not trip the trap.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theillustrated embodiments described herein. Modifications and variationsof the above described embodiments of the present invention are possibleas appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the aboveteachings. For example, as shown in FIG. 27, the moving hand grip 134and rail 138 system could be eliminated. The cable 34 could terminate ina simple hook 23 at the latch end. The hook structure would includeglide member 90 to support the hook to facilitate tripping the trap.This embodiment would not be as user friendly and would require aseparate carrying handle but does work for functionality. In addition,the pedal 19 and trigger rod 143 could be replaced with a combinationbait holder/rod that would activate the latching mechanism when it waspulled or moved a certain distance. Therefore, it is not desired tolimit the invention to the specific examples disclosed or the exactconstruction and operation shown and described. Rather, all suitablemodifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An animal trap comprising: an animal enclosuredefined by an upper portion including a roof and a lower portionincluding a floor, said enclosure having an animal access opening into avacant interior enclosed by said upper and lower portions that is sizedto receive an animal to be trapped; a door mounted at the access openingand movable between a set position in which the door is open to revealthe animal access opening and a closed position in which the door blocksthe animal access opening; a latch mechanism having a hold position anda release position, said latch mechanism being operatively coupled tosaid door to secure said door in the opened position when the latchmechanism is in said hold position and to allow the door to move to saidclosed position when the latch mechanism moves to said release position;a trip mechanism movably mounted in the interior of the animalenclosure; a trigger mechanism between the trip mechanism and the latchmechanism so that when an animal enters the interior of the animalenclosure and moves the trip mechanism from a first position to a secondposition, the trigger mechanism causes the latch mechanism to move tothe release position and allow the door to move from the set position tothe closed position thereby trapping the animal in the animal enclosure;and a locking yoke operatively engaged between the door and the upperportion of the enclosure when the door moves to the closed position toprevent the door from being opened by a trapped animal, said lockingyoke being disengaged when a user moves the door to the set position. 2.The animal trap of claim 1, wherein said locking yoke is generallyrectangular and is operatively engaged at a first end with a lower endof said door and at a second end with the upper portion of saidenclosure when the door is in the closed position.
 3. The animal trap ofclaim 2, wherein said locking yoke prevents the lower end of said doorfrom moving upwardly when said yoke is in said operative engagement. 4.The animal trap of claim 3, wherein said yoke is held in said operativeengagement by a spring element.
 5. The animal trap of claim 1, whereinsaid locking yoke has a generally U-shaped portion and two outwardlydirected ends, said U-shaped portion being pivotally movable on saidends.
 6. The animal trap of claim 1, wherein said latch mechanism issecured to the roof of the trap.
 7. The animal trap of claim 1, whereinsaid latch mechanism includes a movable member that is displacedlongitudinally when the latch mechanism is moved between said setposition and said, release position.
 8. The animal trap of claim 7,wherein said latch mechanism movable member is displaced rearwardly whenin the set position and forwardly in said release position.
 9. Theanimal trap of claim 1, wherein said latch mechanism includes a mountingelement secured to the roof of the trap in a fixed position and amovable member that is displaced relative to said mounting element whenthe latch mechanism is moved between said set position and said releaseposition.
 10. An animal trap comprising: an animal, enclosure having ananimal access opening into a vacant interior sized to receive an animalto be trapped; a door movably mounted at the access opening, the dooroperative in an opened position to reveal the animal access opening andin a closed position to block the animal access opening, said door beingin said opened position when said trap is in a set condition; a latchmechanism having a hold position and a release position, said latchmechanism being operatively coupled to said door to secure said door inthe opened position when the latch mechanism is in said hold positionand to allow the door to move to said closed position when the latchmechanism moves to said release position; a trigger mechanism,responsive to an animal being in the trap, configured to initiatemovement of the latch mechanism from the hold position to the releaseposition and allow the door to move from the opened position to theclosed position thereby trapping the animal in the animal enclosure; anda door lock in abutment with an outer surface of said door thatautomatically engages when the door moves to the closed position toprevent the door from being opened by a trapped animal.
 11. The animaltrap of claim 10, wherein the door lock is operatively engaged betweenthe door and an upper portion of the enclosure when the door is in theclosed position.
 12. The animal trap of claim 11, wherein said door lockis held in said operative engagement by a spring element.
 13. The animaltrap of claim 10, wherein said door lock includes a generallyrectangular yoke that is pivotally movable on two ends thereof.
 14. Theanimal, trap of claim 10, wherein said latch mechanism is secured to theroof of the trap and includes a movable member that is displacedlongitudinally when the latch mechanism is moved between said holdposition and said release position.
 15. An animal trap comprising: ananimal enclosure having an animal access opening into a vacant interiorsized to receive an animal to be trapped; a door pivotally mounted atthe access opening, the door operative in an opened position to revealthe animal access opening and in a closed position to block the animalaccess opening, movement from said opened position to said closedposition being downward; a set mechanism mounted to an upper side ofsaid animal enclosure and operatively coupled to said door, said setmechanism including a movable member that is movable through a range ofmovement while remaining adjacent the upper side of the enclosure forsecuring the door in the opened position when the movable member of theset mechanism is in a set position and for allowing the door to move tosaid closed position when the trap is tripped and the movable member isdisplaced longitudinally; a trip mechanism responsive to movement of ananimal in the interior of the animal enclosure; and a tripping assemblyresponsive to activation of the trip mechanism for releasing said setmechanism out of its set position to enable the door to move downwardlyfrom the opened position to the closed position.
 16. The animal trap ofclaim 15, further comprising a locking yoke operatively engaged betweenthe door and an upper portion of the enclosure when the door moves tothe closed position to prevent the door from being opened by a trappedanimal.
 17. The animal trap of claim 15, wherein said locking yoke isspring tensioned to hold the door in the closed position.
 18. The animaltrap of claim 16, wherein said locking yoke is generally rectangular andpivotally movable on two ends thereof.
 19. The animal trap of claim 15,further comprising a locking wire yoke that is generally rectangular andis operatively engaged at a first end with a lower end of said door andat a second end with an upper portion of said enclosure when the door isin the closed position to prevent the door from being opened by atrapped animal.
 20. The animal trap of claim 19, wherein said lockingwire yoke is held in said operative engagement by a spring element.